Monday, October 31, 2005

Mondays are for Editorial Conferences. Yesterday, being the last day of the film festival, were for movies. A black comedy "Underground" began and ended with the same dialogue: "Once upon a time there was a Country!" The nation was Yugoslavia.

There were a few 10-minute documentaries. One, from the very beginning, had the camera floating freely. It was like gliding through the air. In the background was a description on different periods of time. Finally the camera went towards a light, then a flash, a fly dropped dead!

The day’s movie was Khamosh Paani from Pakistan. Kiron Kher as a Punjabi woman in Pakistan separated from her relatives during the partition had done a good job. After a day long spell of movies, I slept late and woke up at 7:15 today.

I finished bath in a hurry, gobbled up food fast and came to the class only to be thrown out along with six others for not reading the paper. Then came the editorial conference where my story idea was beaten to pulp by the Director, who is the Chief Editor of The Fourth Estate, our lab newspaper. After that was roaming time, hunting for story ideas on my own for sometime and along with "Ujju," my friend from Kolkata.

Sunday, October 30, 2005

I was surprised to see Adolf Hitler on screen when we entered the hall today. It was the second day of the film festival and we entered late. On screen was the German movie "Downfall," picturing the last days of Hitler and the Second World War.

Then came the French movie "A very long engagement," based on First World War. The film was directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Audrey Tautou was in the lead. "Amelie," another movie by the same pair, is the first French film I saw and it is one of my favourites.

The movie of the day was "Gloomy Sunday," a German movie by Rolf Schubel. It was about a haunting music composition, which leads to a number of suicides including that of its composer.

I came back, ‘googled' Gloomy Sunday and found out that there is actually a Hungarian music piece which lead to suicides of more than 100 people! Surely "Gloomy Sunday" made Saturday sizzling!

Saturday, October 29, 2005

Today we went to attend the MG Varsity Film festival, saw five movies in a row, including a German, Russian and Spanish film for the first time in my life.

Of the five films, I enjoyed the first three very much. The German film "The Miracle of Bern" was on their first victory in the soccer world cup. The story covered the lives of a boy, his father who was a German soldier during the Second World War, a national team member from their locality and a young Journalist and his wife who goes to cover the tournament in Switzerland.

The best "timepass" movie I have seen in recent times, it has a sequence where the father slaps his son and says, "Now don’t start crying. German boys don’t cry." And the last dialogue of the movie is by the boy who comforts his weeping father saying, "You know Dad, German boys can cry now and then."

"Motorcycle Diaries," based on the life of the Argentine revolutionary Earnesto "Che" Guevara was the Spanish movie. The story dealt how a 10,000km travel across Latin America transformed a jovial medical student into "Che". Impressive fair.

There are more in the offering, the fair will continue tomorrow and the day after it. And on Sunday, there is "Khamosh Paani," the Kiron Kher starrer Pakistani movie.

The worst thing is that we have to write a review on a movie, as an assignment! Anyway, I love movies and today it was a pucca movie marathon!

Friday, October 28, 2005

Phew! It is 3:30 in the morning and I am sitting before my stupid computer. I finished the third page of the fifth issue of the fourth volume of our lab newspaper, The Fourth Estate.

Every Thursday four of our gang (an editor and the three subs) has to stay awake, finishing our paper. The Malayalam stream students are a little fortunate. They have only one page to do, and the four of them finishes it in an hour or two.

Our Director reminded us today in our class that in the world of newspapers, the deadline is all that matters. Not only our work, but our food, rest and recreation depend on the deadlines.Now it's time to take a little nap.

Today, we are going for a film festival conducted by the MG Varsity here.

Thursday, October 27, 2005

The creation of a thousand forests is in one acorn. -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

This is the quote for today in my daily mail. Reading this, I remembered the labs of Kerala Forest Research Institute in Peechi, Thrissur. We went there during our field trip last week. There we saw the seeds of a mighty teak. The thing was as little as my thumbnail.. But what fascinates us was that the actual seeds were inside the tiny hard globe. The scientist split it open to show tiny water-droplet like things from which a teak sprouts.

I once read a fable where a Guru teaches his disciples how the mind can consist the whole universe, by showing the pore-like seeds of a banyan tree in it’s tiny red fruit.The thoughts went on till I remembered that the animals, birds, stones, trees and we all were composed of molecules and atoms……………

This was an extract from a session of wandering thoughts today. This, certain eccentricities, and certain mannerisms. That is me for the guys here, for my family and for everybody.

Tonight is for manual cropping of the stories. Mostly I’ll try to start the computer layout also, though the deadline is tomorrow night. Now, get set and go………..

Wednesday, October 26, 2005

Today our sir KTO narrated his trip to Sri Lanka. His focus was on the condition of Sri Lankan press, the plight of Journalists and the general conditions prevailing in third world countries. He narrated with examples how the aspiring journalists are forced to take up other jobs, due to poor pay. The training they receive in Journalism is not enough to make them competent, he said. Thus there is a vicious circle, where poor training begets poor pay and poor remuneration forces the aspirants to go for poor training.

He reminded many that they had glorified in the interview their "long cherished ambition" to become a journalist, to "change the face of India". He sadly reminded us that the quality of our Journalism does in no way match the standards of the West and we will be frustrated a lot if we consider remuneration as our prime objective.

As for me, i am still wondering. I came here with the aim of "cutting" a year, get a job, two year work experience, do my MBA and mint bucks. This 69 year old veteran have influenced my intentions, my language, my behaviour, even my thoughts.

By the way, I am sub-editor for this week's issue. Today I had absolutely no work, tomorrow and the day after will be hectic.

Tuesday, October 25, 2005

Whatever you can do, or believe you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. -- Johann Wolfgang von GoetheThis is my first post...Thanks to Sreeni for teaching me how to blog. Happy reading